This invention relates to an ash disposal device, and more particularly an ash disposal device mounted along the front edge portion of a fireplace floor.
Most conventional fireplaces have ash openings covered by pivotally mounted dampers or ash doors and communicating with the basement through a chute or passage below the fireplace Some of these ash passages extend through the basement wall to the outside of the house, with the ash discharge opening covered by a hinged door. Such conventional ash openings are usually located in the center or toward the rear of the floor of the fireplace.
It is also known to provide openings through the fireplace floor or walls which are connected to air passages for the introduction of draft air into the fireplace to improve the combustion of the fuel.
Various ash or air conduits communicating with the floor of a fireplace or other heating apparatus are disclosed in the following U.S. patents:
______________________________________ 42,804 Stoner May 17, 1864 80,455 Coates July 28, 1868 161,724 Winfield Apr. 6, 1875 186,013 Linsley Jan. 9, 1877 217,197 Butz July 8, 1879 347,522 Schoen Aug. 17, 1886 2,470,430 Carter May 17, 1949 4,186,719 Dalsin Feb. 5, 1980 ______________________________________
All of the above patents, except Dalsin, disclose receptacles or chutes for the removal of ashes from a fireplace or furnace.
Winfield, Carter, and Dalsin disclose chutes in the fireplace which are used for conveying air to the fireplace and/or the removal of ashes.
Linsley discloses a sliding fender or ash flue cover B adapted to slide over an opening in the hearth in order to open and close the opening for either the removal or the retention of ashes.
Winfield, Carter, and Dalsin all disclose hinged covers for the chutes or openings in the hearth.
The Winfield patent discloses a combination ash and air conduit extending up through the center part of the floor of the fireplace. The ash flue F in the Linsley patent also communicates with the fireplace through the center portion of the fireplace floor.
Although the Dalsin U.S. Pat. No. 4,186,719 discloses an elongated, rectangular box fitted into an opening in the front of the fireplace floor, and is provided with a hinged top cover, nevertheless, the duct 30 leading away from the box will permit only the introduction of air and is not suitable for the elimination of ashes by gravity, since the duct 30 is horizontal.
The Carter U.S. Pat. No. 2,470,430 discloses a variety of both ash disposal chutes and draft inlet passages for a fireplace. Although FIG. 6 of Carter discloses a nozzle 5 in the front portion of the fireplace floor purportedly for the discharge of ashes and a hinged lid 8, nevertheless, the projection of the nozzle 5 above the horizontal plane of the fireplace floor 2, and the hinged connection of the lid to the rear edge of the nozzle, present barriers to the sweeping of ashes forward into the nozzle 5.
None of the above patents disclose an ash disposal device having a sweep surface extending transversely along, and coplanar with, the front of the fireplace floor, and an ash opening in the sweep surface to facilitate the sweeping of ashes forward from the fireplace into the opening. Moreover, such patents do not disclose such a sweep surface with a hinged lid for closing the ash opening and for opening the ash opening to provide a sweep barrier to prevent the swept ashes from entering the living area in front of the fireplace.